Search This Blog









2023 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (2)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (2)
- Arkansas (1)
- California (16)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (3)
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (2)
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (1)
- Illinois (1)
- Indiana (1)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (4)
- Maryland (3)
- Massachusetts (4)
- Michigan (4)
- Minnesota (1)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri (1)
- Montana (2)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada (1)
- New Hampshire (1)
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (15)
- North Carolina (4)
- North Dakota (1)
- Ohio (3)
- Oklahoma (1)
- Oregon (1)
- Pennsylvania (1)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota (1)
- Tennessee (2)
- Texas (4)
- Utah (1)
- Vermont (4)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (6)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (2)
- (1)
- Washington, D.C.* (1)
International:
- Australia (3)
- Barbados (1)
- Canada (8)
- Chile (1)
- England (25)
- France (2)
- Ireland (2)
- Italy (1)
- Nigeria (1)
- Norway (1)
- Scotland (3)
- South Korea (1)
- Sweden (1)
- The Netherlands (2)
-Vietnam (1)





2023 Build Your Library Reading Challenge







Monday, December 16, 2019
Bora-Bora World War II Novel Bland, Forgettable
1:30 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Anne Calloway longs for something more exciting than marrying her wealthy, but dull fiancé and settling down to a boring, predictable life. So, when Gerard ships off to fight in Europe, the 21-year-old decides to do her part for the war effort. She and her best friend, Kitty Morgan, join the Army Nurse Corps. Serving together in Bora-Bora, the two soon realize that nursing on a far-off island in the middle of a bloody war is nowhere near as glamorous as it sounded when they signed up. Picnics and outings with the soldiers are bright spots in the women's lives, but even those have a way of leading to trouble ...
Although Anne vows not to let the Army boys turn her head, she's immediately drawn to Westry Green. In spite of herself, she falls for the enigmatic soldier. As they work together to fix up a small, abandoned bungalow the Tahitians claim is cursed, they build a secret relationship that Anne knows will endure beyond the war. Then they witness a brutal crime. Before Anne knows it, she's become more than an innocent bystander and Westry's been shipped out suddenly. With no communication from the soldier she's come to adore, Anne has no idea what's happened to him. Where is Westry now? Why isn't he writing her? And what will become of the love that blossomed between them in their secret little bungalow?
I've heard good things about Sarah Jio's books, so I decided to give The Bungalow a try. What did I think? Meh. The plot's melodramatic, the prose is stilted, and the characters are nothing special. I'm especially confused by Anne and Wesley's big romance. Both are bland characters, with no real personality, so I spent the whole book wondering what they saw in each other. Although they are supposed to have this great, timeless love, there's no real spark between them. Their relationship feels like a silly little wartime fling. The mystery element did pique my interest. Otherwise, The Bungalow just didn't do much for me. It's an okay read, but nothing that will entice me to read more from Jio. Oh well.
(Readalikes: Reminds me of The Woman in the White Kimono by Ana Johns and Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for brief, mild language (no F-bombs), violence, mild sexual content, and disturbing subject matter
To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find
3 comments:
Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.
P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)




Reading
Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center

Listening
Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr.



Followin' with Bloglovin'



-
-
-
The Darkness Before Them2 hours ago
-
-
Nonfiction November: New to my TBR4 hours ago
-
-
Cover Love Scary Covers14 hours ago
-
-
-
Grounds for Murder by Tara Lush16 hours ago
-
Top Ten Tuesday ~ Books Set On SF Worlds16 hours ago
-
Unnatural Death by Patricia Cornwell17 hours ago
-
We the Sea Turtles18 hours ago
-
-
-
Top Ten Tuesday23 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
I have been reading...2 days ago
-
Sunday Salon: November 26, 20232 days ago
-
-
The Butterfly Collector by Tea Cooper3 days ago
-
-
-
-
Happy Thanksgiving, 2023!!6 days ago
-
2024 Motif Reading Challenge1 week ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?1 month ago
-
Reading Recap August 20232 months ago
-
-
6/25/23 Extra Ezra5 months ago
-
-
Dotty Beanie with Ears6 months ago
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-

Grab my Button!



Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ▼ 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
Well, I felt very differently about this one. (surprising, since we usually have the same tastes.) I said she writes beautifully and it was a joy to read. I read it a long time ago, and love Jio. I still remember the basic story...which says a lot, because I often forget even the basic premise of books I read. Sorry this wasn’t a good one for you.
ReplyDeleteHow sad. A book that's set on Bora Bora should be better than meh. I mean, it's Bora Bora! ;D
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed a book by Sarah Jio (the one about a bookstore with a connection to Goodnight Moon - but the title is escaping me) but I don't think bringing characters to life is really her strong point. I think if the story really hooks you with the premise then you enjoy it but if it doesn't the characters aren't enough to keep it out of meh territory. I'm sorry this one didn't work for you and honestly I think I'll give it a pass too.
ReplyDelete